Linux Newbie

The Linux Newbie section will try to help you discover the meaning and implications of various aspects of Linux. Here are listed links to further understanding.

History of Linux

Linux is a complete operating system which was originally designed by a Finnish student at the University of Helsinki, Finland. The student's name was Linus Torvalds who began working on Linux in 1991. He had been interested in a Unix variation called Minix which had been used as a teaching aid. Torvalds released the original version of Linux on the Internet for free, sparking a development process which involved many developers who collaborated for free to help develop the operating system.

Installation Choices

As a multiuser operating system, Linux provides the opportunity to install either a workstation or a server which serves files to other computers or even to combine the two options and run both a workstation and at the same time run a server on the same machine. Of course this confuses the whole issue, here is the difference between a workstation and a server.

User Login

Linux is a multiuser system. This means that many users may access a system at one time or at different times. Each user has a specific login as well as an individual desktop. This means that if a number of users are going to use the system there has to be a method of keeping users files and programs separate from other users, thus a login. The Login will tell the system who you are and will then provide for you all of the resources that you are entitled to. At the same time the system will protect your resources from other people on the system as well as other people on other systems, i.e. the Internet.

The User InterfaceThe Linux system can either run with the graphical user interface which is the interface that allows users to see images and text. Or the Linux system can run only in text mode which allows you to do everything faster and more efficiently but requires extensive knowledge of Linux commands and programs. Each option can compliment the other. In fact, many users find it more productive to use both interfaces.

The Desktop

The Desktop is the environment that the computer session begins with. In other words, when you turn on a computer the working area that is viewable is the Desktop, which involves a great number of programs creating not just a work area but an environment. The environment consists of hundreds of small programs that work together to create the desktop. All graphical interfaces have an environment, Windows, Mac or Linux. Understanding the purpose and design of the Desktop is an important aspect of employing the Desktop to work for you.

Linux follows a standard for files systems called the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS). This standard was developed to provide an understanding to both users and programs of the location of file and directories. This standard is maintained by Filesystem Hierarchy Standard Group which describes the structure and purpose of the Filesystem so that developers for both operating systems and applications, as well as end users, understand the required structure to enable compliance and interactivity of programs.